Philosophers Directory

Explore 243 philosophers throughout history

Socrates

Ancient Greece Classical Greek

Ancient Greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy.

Born: 469 BCE

Plato

Ancient Greece Platonism

Ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates, and founder of the Academy in Athens.

Born: 428 BCE

Aristotle

Ancient Greece Aristotelianism

Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath, student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

Born: 384 BCE

Confucius

Ancient China Confucianism

Chinese philosopher whose teachings have deeply influenced East Asian life and thought.

Born: 551 BCE

Laozi

Ancient China Taoism

Ancient Chinese philosopher, writer of the Tao Te Ching and founder of philosophical Taoism.

Born: 601 BCE

Thomas Aquinas

Medieval Italy Scholasticism

Italian Dominican friar and priest, influential philosopher and theologian in the scholastic tradition.

Born: 1225

René Descartes

Modern France Rationalism

French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, often called the father of modern philosophy.

Born: 1596

Baruch Spinoza

Modern Netherlands Rationalism

Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardi origin, considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy.

Born: 1632

John Locke

Modern England Empiricism

English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers.

Born: 1632

David Hume

Modern Scotland Empiricism

Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist known for his influential system of philosophical empiricism.

Born: 1711

Immanuel Kant

Modern Prussia German Idealism

German philosopher who is a central figure in modern philosophy, known for his work in epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics.

Born: 1724

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Modern Switzerland Enlightenment

Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer whose political philosophy influenced the French Revolution.

Born: 1712

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Modern Germany German Idealism

German philosopher who was a major figure in German Idealism and developed a dialectical scheme.

Born: 1770

Arthur Schopenhauer

Modern Germany Pessimism

German philosopher best known for his work The World as Will and Representation.

Born: 1788

Søren Kierkegaard

Modern Denmark Existentialism

Danish philosopher, theologian, and cultural critic who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher.

Born: 1813

Karl Marx

Modern Germany Marxism

German philosopher, economist, historian, and revolutionary socialist whose ideas played a significant role in the development of modern social science.

Born: 1818

Friedrich Nietzsche

Modern Germany Existentialism

German philosopher, cultural critic, and philologist whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history.

Born: 1844

William James

Modern United States Pragmatism

American philosopher and psychologist, often called the "Father of American psychology".

Born: 1842

Bertrand Russell

Contemporary England Analytic Philosophy

British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic who had considerable influence on mathematics, logic, and analytic philosophy.

Born: 1872

Martin Heidegger

Contemporary Germany Existentialism

German philosopher best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism.

Born: 1889

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Contemporary Austria Analytic Philosophy

Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language.

Born: 1889

Jean-Paul Sartre

Contemporary France Existentialism

French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, and literary critic, one of the key figures in 20th-century French philosophy and existentialism.

Born: 1905

Simone de Beauvoir

Contemporary France Existentialism

French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist, and social theorist.

Born: 1908

Albert Camus

Contemporary Algeria/France Absurdism

French Algerian philosopher, author, and journalist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Born: 1913

Hannah Arendt

Contemporary Germany/United States Political Philosophy

German-American philosopher and political theorist, known for her work on totalitarianism, authority, and the nature of power.

Born: 1906

John Rawls

Contemporary United States Political Philosophy

American moral and political philosopher who held the James Bryant Conant University Professorship at Harvard University.

Born: 1921

Michel Foucault

Contemporary France Post-structuralism

French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic.

Born: 1926

Jacques Derrida

Contemporary Algeria/France Deconstruction

Algerian-French philosopher best known for developing a form of semiotic analysis known as deconstruction.

Born: 1930

Judith Butler

Contemporary United States Post-structuralism

American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and gender studies.

Born: 1956

Slavoj Žižek

Contemporary Slovenia Continental Philosophy

Slovenian philosopher, cultural critic, and Hegelian Marxist known for his eclectic approach to philosophy.

Born: 1949

Martha Nussbaum

Contemporary United States Virtue Ethics

American philosopher and current Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago.

Born: 1947

Cornel West

Contemporary United States Pragmatism

American philosopher, political activist, social critic, author, and public intellectual.

Born: 1953

Peter Singer

Contemporary Australia Utilitarianism

Australian moral philosopher, known for his work in bioethics and his advocacy of animal rights.

Born: 1946

Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)

Ancient India Buddhism

Spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism. His teachings on suffering, mindfulness, and enlightenment have profoundly influenced Eastern philosophy and religion.

Born: 563 BCE

Jesus Christ

Ancient Judea Christian Philosophy

Central figure of Christianity, whose teachings on love, compassion, and moral living have profoundly shaped Western philosophy, ethics, and theology.

Born: 4 BCE

Augustine of Hippo

Ancient North Africa Christian Philosophy

Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy.

Born: 354

Anselm of Canterbury

Medieval Italy/England Scholasticism

Benedictine monk, philosopher, and theologian, best known for his ontological argument for the existence of God.

Born: 1033

Moses Maimonides

Medieval Spain/Egypt Jewish Philosophy

Medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher, Torah scholar, and physician. One of the most influential figures in Jewish history.

Born: 1138

Nagarjuna

Ancient India Mahayana Buddhism

Indian Buddhist philosopher and founder of the Madhyamaka school, instrumental in developing the concept of emptiness (sunyata).

Born: 150

John Duns Scotus

Medieval Scotland Scholasticism

Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, philosopher, and theologian. One of the three most important philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages.

Born: 1266

William of Ockham

Medieval England Nominalism

English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. Best known for Ockham's Razor: "Entities should not be multiplied without necessity."

Born: 1287

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Modern Germany Rationalism

German polymath, philosopher, mathematician, and logician. Co-inventor of calculus and developer of the theory of monads.

Born: 1646

George Berkeley

Modern Ireland Idealism

Anglo-Irish philosopher best known for his theory of immaterialism: "esse est percipi" (to be is to be perceived).

Born: 1685

Thomas Reid

Modern Scotland Common Sense Philosophy

Scottish philosopher who founded the Scottish School of Common Sense and argued against skepticism with principles of common sense.

Born: 1710

Gottlob Frege

Modern Germany Analytic Philosophy

German philosopher, logician, and mathematician. Founder of modern logic and analytic philosophy, developed predicate logic.

Born: 1848

Charles Sanders Peirce

Modern United States Pragmatism

American philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist, founder of pragmatism and semiotics. Father of American philosophy.

Born: 1839

John Dewey

Modern United States Pragmatism

American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer. Leader of the progressive movement in U.S. education.

Born: 1859

G. E. Moore

Contemporary England Analytic Philosophy

British philosopher known for his defense of common sense and his contributions to ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics.

Born: 1873

Alfred North Whitehead

Modern England Process Philosophy

English mathematician and philosopher, best known for his work in mathematical logic and process philosophy.

Born: 1861

Hildegard of Bingen

Medieval Germany Christian Mysticism

German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, and visionary. One of the most learned women of her age.

Born: 1098

Meister Eckhart

Medieval Germany Christian Mysticism

German theologian, philosopher, and mystic. One of the most influential Christian Neoplatonists in the Western tradition.

Born: 1260

Averroes (Ibn Rushd)

Medieval Spain Islamic Philosophy

Andalusian Muslim philosopher and polymath. His commentaries on Aristotle influenced both Islamic and Christian scholars.

Born: 1126

Avicenna (Ibn Sina)

Medieval Persia Islamic Philosophy

Persian polymath and physician. One of the most significant figures in the Islamic Golden Age and the father of early modern medicine.

Born: 980

Al-Ghazali

Medieval Persia Islamic Philosophy

Persian Muslim theologian, philosopher, and Sufi mystic. One of the most influential Muslim scholars of all time.

Born: 1058

Adi Shankara

Medieval India Advaita Vedanta

Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, a sub-school of Vedanta.

Born: 788

Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)

Ancient China Taoism

Chinese philosopher who authored the Zhuangzi, one of the foundational texts of Taoism emphasizing spontaneity and relativism.

Born: 369 BCE

Mencius

Ancient China Confucianism

Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the "second sage" after Confucius himself. Advocated human nature is inherently good.

Born: 372 BCE

Pythagoras

Ancient Greece Pythagoreanism

Ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher, founder of Pythagoreanism. Known for the Pythagorean theorem and contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and music theory.

Born: 570 BCE

Euclid

Ancient Greece Mathematics

Ancient Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". Author of Elements, one of the most influential works in mathematics.

Born: 325 BCE

Archimedes

Ancient Greece Mathematics

Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. One of the leading scientists in classical antiquity.

Born: 287 BCE

Hypatia of Alexandria

Ancient Egypt Neoplatonism

Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher in Roman Egypt. First well-documented female mathematician.

Born: 360

Thales of Miletus

Ancient Greece Pre-Socratic

Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, mathematician and astronomer from Miletus. Considered the first philosopher in Greek tradition and the "Father of Science".

Born: 624 BCE

Heraclitus

Ancient Greece Pre-Socratic

Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher known for his doctrine of change being central to the universe, and for establishing the term Logos.

Born: 535 BCE

Parmenides

Ancient Greece Pre-Socratic

Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Elea. Founder of the Eleatic school of philosophy, known for his radical monism.

Born: 515 BCE

Democritus

Ancient Greece Atomism

Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, primarily remembered for his atomic theory. Known as the "Laughing Philosopher".

Born: 460 BCE

Epicurus

Ancient Greece Epicureanism

Ancient Greek philosopher and founder of Epicureanism. Taught that pleasure is the greatest good.

Born: 341 BCE

Zeno of Elea

Ancient Greece Eleatic

Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher famous for his paradoxes which have puzzled mathematicians and philosophers for millennia.

Born: 490 BCE

Diogenes of Sinope

Ancient Greece Cynicism

Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynic philosophy. Famous for his ascetic lifestyle and sharp wit.

Born: 412 BCE

Empedocles

Ancient Greece Pluralism

Greek pre-Socratic philosopher who established the four classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water.

Born: 494 BCE

Sun Tzu

Ancient China Military Strategy

Ancient Chinese military strategist, author of The Art of War, an influential work on military strategy and tactics.

Born: 544 BCE

Xunzi

Ancient China Confucianism

Chinese Confucian philosopher who argued that human nature is inherently evil and that goodness is attained through training.

Born: 310 BCE

Mozi

Ancient China Mohism

Chinese philosopher who founded Mohism, emphasizing universal love, social order, and material wealth.

Born: 470 BCE

Han Feizi

Ancient China Legalism

Chinese philosopher and statesman who synthesized Legalist thought. His writings influenced the Qin dynasty.

Born: 280 BCE

Patanjali

Ancient India Yoga Philosophy

Ancient Indian sage, author of the Yoga Sutras, foundational text of yoga philosophy.

Born: 200 BCE

Chanakya (Kautilya)

Ancient India Political Philosophy

Ancient Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, and royal advisor. Author of Arthashastra on statecraft and economic policy.

Born: 375 BCE

Boethius

Medieval Italy Neoplatonism

Roman senator, philosopher, and theologian. Best known for The Consolation of Philosophy, written while imprisoned.

Born: 477

Alcuin of York

Medieval England Carolingian Renaissance

English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet, and teacher. Key figure in the Carolingian Renaissance.

Born: 735

Peter Abelard

Medieval France Scholasticism

French scholastic philosopher, theologian, and preeminent logician. Known for his relationship with Héloïse.

Born: 1079

Albertus Magnus

Medieval Germany Scholasticism

German Dominican friar and bishop, philosopher, and scientist. Teacher of Thomas Aquinas.

Born: 1200

Duns Scotus

Medieval Scotland Scholasticism

Scottish Franciscan philosopher and theologian, known for his subtle distinctions in logic and metaphysics.

Born: 1266

Roger Bacon

Medieval England Natural Philosophy

English philosopher and Franciscan friar who emphasized empiricism and the study of nature through experimentation.

Born: 1214

Ibn Arabi

Medieval Spain Sufism

Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher. One of the most influential Islamic thinkers.

Born: 1165

Rumi

Medieval Persia Sufism

Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. His spiritual legacy transcends national borders.

Born: 1207

Omar Khayyam

Medieval Persia Mathematics

Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet. Made significant contributions to algebra and calendar reform.

Born: 1048

Nicholas of Cusa

Medieval Germany Renaissance Philosophy

German philosopher, theologian, mathematician, and astronomer. Pioneer of modern science and philosophy.

Born: 1401

Desiderius Erasmus

Modern Netherlands Christian Humanism

Dutch philosopher and Christian scholar, catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Known for his sharp wit and humanist philosophy.

Born: 1466

Niccolò Machiavelli

Modern Italy Political Philosophy

Italian Renaissance diplomat, philosopher, and writer, best known for The Prince. Father of modern political science.

Born: 1469

Thomas More

Modern England Christian Humanism

English lawyer, social philosopher, author of Utopia. Executed for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as head of the Church.

Born: 1478

Francis Bacon

Modern England Empiricism

English philosopher and statesman, father of empiricism and the scientific method. Developed the Baconian method.

Born: 1561

Galileo Galilei

Modern Italy Natural Philosophy

Italian astronomer, physicist, and philosopher. Father of observational astronomy and modern physics.

Born: 1564

Thomas Hobbes

Modern England Social Contract

English philosopher, best known for his work Leviathan. Established the social contract theory.

Born: 1588

Blaise Pascal

Modern France Mathematics

French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher. Pioneer in probability theory and fluid mechanics.

Born: 1623

Pierre de Fermat

Modern France Mathematics

French lawyer and mathematician, credited with early developments leading to infinitesimal calculus. Known for Fermat's Last Theorem.

Born: 1607

Isaac Newton

Modern England Natural Philosophy

English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian. Formulated laws of motion and universal gravitation.

Born: 1643

Voltaire

Modern France Enlightenment

French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Famous for his wit and advocacy of civil liberties.

Born: 1694

Montesquieu

Modern France Enlightenment

French judge, man of letters, political philosopher. Articulated the theory of separation of powers.

Born: 1689

Denis Diderot

Modern France Enlightenment

French philosopher, art critic, and writer. Co-founder and chief editor of the Encyclopédie.

Born: 1713

Adam Smith

Modern Scotland Economics

Scottish economist and philosopher, pioneer of political economy. Author of The Wealth of Nations.

Born: 1723

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Modern India Mathematics

Indian mathematician who made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, and continued fractions.

Born: 1887

Bertrand Russell

Contemporary England Mathematics

British philosopher, logician, and mathematician. Co-author of Principia Mathematica.

Born: 1872

André Weil

Contemporary France Mathematics

French mathematician, known for his foundational work in number theory and algebraic geometry.

Born: 1906

Paul Erdős

Contemporary Hungary Mathematics

Hungarian mathematician, one of the most prolific mathematicians in history with over 1,500 papers.

Born: 1913

Alexander Grothendieck

Contemporary Germany Mathematics

German-French mathematician who revolutionized algebraic geometry. Fields Medal recipient.

Born: 1928

Benoit Mandelbrot

Contemporary Poland Mathematics

Polish-French-American mathematician. Father of fractal geometry, discovered the Mandelbrot set.

Born: 1924

Ibn Khaldun

Medieval Tunisia Islamic Philosophy

Arab scholar, often described as father of historiography, sociology, economics, and demography.

Born: 1332

Al-Farabi

Medieval Central Asia Islamic Philosophy

Persian polymath and philosopher, known as "the Second Teacher" after Aristotle.

Born: 872

Al-Kindi

Medieval Iraq Islamic Philosophy

Arab philosopher, mathematician, physician, and musician. Known as "the Philosopher of the Arabs".

Born: 801

Ramanuja

Medieval India Vedanta

Indian philosopher and theologian. Most influential thinker of devotional Hinduism.

Born: 1017

Madhvacharya

Medieval India Dvaita Vedanta

Hindu philosopher and theologian. Founder of Dvaita (dualism) school of Vedanta.

Born: 1238

Dōgen

Medieval Japan Zen Buddhism

Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, and philosopher. Founder of the Sōtō school of Zen.

Born: 1200

Nichiren

Medieval Japan Buddhism

Japanese Buddhist priest who founded Nichiren Buddhism. Emphasized the Lotus Sutra.

Born: 1222

Wang Yangming

Modern China Neo-Confucianism

Chinese philosopher, general, and administrator. Developed the philosophy of "mind" or "consciousness only".

Born: 1472

Zhu Xi

Medieval China Neo-Confucianism

Chinese philosopher and writer. Most influential Neo-Confucian thinker.

Born: 1130

Wang Bi

Ancient China Taoism

Chinese philosopher and one of the most important interpreters of Laozi and Taoism.

Born: 226

Ayn Rand

Contemporary Russia/United States Objectivism

Russian-American writer and philosopher. Developed the philosophical system known as Objectivism.

Born: 1905

Iris Murdoch

Contemporary Ireland Moral Philosophy

Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Known for her novels and her work on moral philosophy.

Born: 1919

Philippa Foot

Contemporary England Virtue Ethics

British philosopher and founder of contemporary virtue ethics. Created the trolley problem.

Born: 1920

G.E.M. Anscombe

Contemporary England Analytic Philosophy

British philosopher who wrote on the philosophy of mind, action, and ethics. Translated Wittgenstein.

Born: 1919

Susan Haack

Contemporary England Pragmatism

English professor of philosophy and law. Distinguished scholar in epistemology and pragmatism.

Born: 1945

Nancy Cartwright

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Science

American philosopher of science. Known for her work on causality and scientific models.

Born: 1944

Jürgen Habermas

Contemporary Germany Critical Theory

German philosopher and sociologist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. Associated with the Frankfurt School.

Born: 1929

Theodor Adorno

Contemporary Germany Critical Theory

German philosopher, sociologist, and composer. Leading member of the Frankfurt School.

Born: 1903

Max Horkheimer

Contemporary Germany Critical Theory

German philosopher and sociologist. Founding member of the Frankfurt School.

Born: 1895

Walter Benjamin

Contemporary Germany Critical Theory

German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic and essayist. Associated with the Frankfurt School.

Born: 1892

Herbert Marcuse

Contemporary Germany Critical Theory

German-American philosopher, sociologist, and political theorist. Associated with the Frankfurt School.

Born: 1898

Erich Fromm

Contemporary Germany Humanistic Psychology

German Jewish social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, and humanistic philosopher.

Born: 1900

Hans-Georg Gadamer

Contemporary Germany Hermeneutics

German philosopher of the continental tradition. Known for his work on hermeneutics and phenomenology.

Born: 1900

Paul Ricoeur

Contemporary France Hermeneutics

French philosopher known for combining phenomenology, hermeneutics, and structuralism.

Born: 1913

Emmanuel Levinas

Contemporary Lithuania/France Phenomenology

French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work on ethics and phenomenology.

Born: 1906

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Contemporary France Phenomenology

French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger.

Born: 1908

Hypatia

Ancient Egypt Neoplatonism

Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt.

Born: 355

Boethius

Medieval Italy Neoplatonism

Roman senator and philosopher. Author of "The Consolation of Philosophy".

Born: 480

Peter Abelard

Medieval France Scholasticism

Medieval French philosopher, theologian, and preeminent logician.

Born: 1079

Anselm of Canterbury

Medieval Italy Scholasticism

Benedictine monk, philosopher, and theologian. Known for the ontological argument.

Born: 1033

Roger Bacon

Medieval England Empiricism

English philosopher and Franciscan friar. Emphasized empiricism and the study of nature.

Born: 1214

Duns Scotus

Medieval Scotland Scholasticism

Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, philosopher, and theologian.

Born: 1266

William of Ockham

Medieval England Nominalism

English Franciscan friar and theologian. Known for Ockham's Razor principle.

Born: 1287

Marsilio Ficino

Renaissance Italy Platonism

Italian scholar and Catholic priest. One of the most influential humanist philosophers of the Renaissance.

Born: 1433

Pico della Mirandola

Renaissance Italy Humanism

Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. Famous for the "Oration on the Dignity of Man".

Born: 1463

Giordano Bruno

Renaissance Italy Hermeticism

Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and cosmologist. Burned at the stake for heresy.

Born: 1548

Francis Bacon

Modern England Empiricism

English philosopher and statesman. Father of empiricism and the scientific method.

Born: 1561

Thomas Hobbes

Modern England Social Contract

English philosopher. Best known for his political philosophy, particularly in "Leviathan".

Born: 1588

René Descartes

Modern France Rationalism

French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. Father of modern philosophy.

Born: 1596

Blaise Pascal

Modern France Christian Existentialism

French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and theologian.

Born: 1623

Baruch Spinoza

Modern Netherlands Rationalism

Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardic Jewish origin. One of the early thinkers of the Enlightenment.

Born: 1632

John Locke

Modern England Empiricism

English philosopher and physician. Father of Liberalism.

Born: 1632

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Modern Germany Rationalism

German polymath. Philosopher, mathematician, and political adviser.

Born: 1646

George Berkeley

Modern Ireland Idealism

Anglo-Irish philosopher. Known for his immaterialist philosophy: "esse est percipi" (to be is to be perceived).

Born: 1685

David Hume

Modern Scotland Empiricism

Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist.

Born: 1711

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Modern Switzerland Social Contract

Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the Enlightenment.

Born: 1712

Adam Smith

Modern Scotland Classical Economics

Scottish economist and philosopher. Father of modern economics.

Born: 1723

Immanuel Kant

Modern Germany German Idealism

German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers.

Born: 1724

Jeremy Bentham

Modern England Utilitarianism

English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer. Founder of modern utilitarianism.

Born: 1748

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Modern Germany German Idealism

German philosopher. One of the most important figures in German idealism.

Born: 1770

Arthur Schopenhauer

Modern Germany Pessimism

German philosopher. Known for his philosophical pessimism and "The World as Will and Representation".

Born: 1788

John Stuart Mill

Modern England Utilitarianism

English philosopher, political economist, and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in liberalism.

Born: 1806

Søren Kierkegaard

Modern Denmark Existentialism

Danish philosopher, theologian, and poet. Father of existentialism.

Born: 1813

Karl Marx

Modern Germany Marxism

German philosopher, economist, and revolutionary socialist.

Born: 1818

Friedrich Nietzsche

Modern Germany Existentialism

German philosopher and cultural critic. Known for his critique of traditional morality.

Born: 1844

William James

Modern United States Pragmatism

American philosopher and psychologist. Father of American psychology.

Born: 1842

Charles Sanders Peirce

Modern United States Pragmatism

American philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist. Founder of pragmatism.

Born: 1839

John Dewey

Contemporary United States Pragmatism

American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer.

Born: 1859

Edmund Husserl

Contemporary Austria Phenomenology

German philosopher who established the school of phenomenology.

Born: 1859

Martin Heidegger

Contemporary Germany Existentialism

German philosopher. Best known for his contributions to phenomenology and existentialism.

Born: 1889

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Contemporary Austria Analytic Philosophy

Austrian-British philosopher. Major influence on 20th-century philosophy, especially in logic and language.

Born: 1889

Karl Popper

Contemporary Austria Philosophy of Science

Austrian-British philosopher. Known for his rejection of the classical inductivist views on the scientific method.

Born: 1902

Jean-Paul Sartre

Contemporary France Existentialism

French philosopher, playwright, novelist, and political activist. Leading figure in 20th-century existentialism.

Born: 1905

Simone de Beauvoir

Contemporary France Existentialism

French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, and feminist theorist.

Born: 1908

Albert Camus

Contemporary Algeria Absurdism

French philosopher, author, and journalist. Nobel Prize laureate in Literature.

Born: 1913

Hannah Arendt

Contemporary Germany Political Philosophy

German-American political theorist. Known for her works on totalitarianism and the nature of power.

Born: 1906

Willard Van Orman Quine

Contemporary United States Analytic Philosophy

American philosopher and logician. One of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century.

Born: 1908

Thomas Kuhn

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Science

American philosopher of science. Author of "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions".

Born: 1922

John Rawls

Contemporary United States Political Philosophy

American moral and political philosopher. Known for "A Theory of Justice".

Born: 1921

Michel Foucault

Contemporary France Post-structuralism

French philosopher, historian of ideas, and social theorist. Influenced postmodern philosophy.

Born: 1926

Jacques Derrida

Contemporary Algeria Deconstruction

Algerian-French philosopher. Best known for developing deconstruction.

Born: 1930

Richard Rorty

Contemporary United States Pragmatism

American philosopher. Combined pragmatism with postmodern philosophy.

Born: 1931

Noam Chomsky

Contemporary United States Linguistics

American linguist, philosopher, and political activist. Father of modern linguistics.

Born: 1928

Peter Singer

Contemporary Australia Utilitarianism

Australian moral philosopher. Specialist in applied ethics and animal rights.

Born: 1946

Martha Nussbaum

Contemporary United States Capabilities Approach

American philosopher. Known for her work on ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, political philosophy, and ethics.

Born: 1947

Daniel Dennett

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist. Known for his work on consciousness and free will.

Born: 1942

Slavoj Žižek

Contemporary Slovenia Continental Philosophy

Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic. Known for his use of Lacanian psychoanalysis.

Born: 1949

Judith Butler

Contemporary United States Gender Studies

American philosopher and gender theorist. Pioneer of queer theory.

Born: 1956

Cornel West

Contemporary United States Pragmatism

American philosopher, political activist, social critic, and public intellectual.

Born: 1953

Alvin Plantinga

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Religion

American analytic philosopher. Known for his work in philosophy of religion and epistemology.

Born: 1932

David Chalmers

Contemporary Australia Philosophy of Mind

Australian philosopher and cognitive scientist. Known for his work on consciousness.

Born: 1966

Saul Kripke

Contemporary United States Analytic Philosophy

American philosopher and logician. Distinguished for his work on modal logic and philosophy of language.

Born: 1940

Hilary Putnam

Contemporary United States Analytic Philosophy

American philosopher, mathematician, and computer scientist. Made contributions to philosophy of mind, language, and science.

Born: 1926

Alasdair MacIntyre

Contemporary Scotland Virtue Ethics

Scottish philosopher. Known for his contribution to moral and political philosophy.

Born: 1929

Charles Taylor

Contemporary Canada Communitarianism

Canadian philosopher. Known for his contributions to political philosophy and the philosophy of the social sciences.

Born: 1931

John Searle

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for his contributions to philosophy of language and mind.

Born: 1932

Thomas Nagel

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for his critique of reductionist accounts of consciousness.

Born: 1937

Robert Nozick

Contemporary United States Libertarianism

American philosopher. Best known for his book "Anarchy, State, and Utopia".

Born: 1938

Derek Parfit

Contemporary England Ethics

British philosopher. Specialist in personal identity, rationality, and ethics.

Born: 1942

Bernard Williams

Contemporary England Moral Philosophy

English moral philosopher. Known for his critique of utilitarianism and defense of moral relativism.

Born: 1929

Onora O'Neill

Contemporary Northern Ireland Kantian Ethics

British philosopher and a crossbench member of the House of Lords.

Born: 1941

Christine Korsgaard

Contemporary United States Kantian Ethics

American philosopher and author. Known for her work on moral philosophy.

Born: 1952

Michael Sandel

Contemporary United States Communitarianism

American political philosopher. Known for his critique of Rawlsian liberalism.

Born: 1953

Kwame Anthony Appiah

Contemporary Ghana Political Philosophy

Ghanaian-British-American philosopher and writer. Known for his work on political theory and ethics.

Born: 1954

Nancy Fraser

Contemporary United States Critical Theory

American philosopher. Known for her work on feminist theory and political philosophy.

Born: 1947

Patricia Churchland

Contemporary Canada Neurophilosophy

Canadian-American philosopher. Pioneer in the field of neurophilosophy.

Born: 1943

Linda Zagzebski

Contemporary United States Virtue Epistemology

American philosopher. Known for her work on virtue epistemology and philosophy of religion.

Born: 1946

Graham Priest

Contemporary England Paraconsistent Logic

British philosopher. Known for his work on non-classical logic.

Born: 1948

Timothy Williamson

Contemporary England Epistemology

British philosopher. Known for his work on vagueness, knowledge, and modal logic.

Born: 1955

Kit Fine

Contemporary England Metaphysics

British philosopher. Known for his work on metaphysics, philosophy of language, and philosophical logic.

Born: 1946

David Lewis

Contemporary United States Analytic Philosophy

American philosopher. Known for his work on modal realism, counterfactuals, and metaphysics.

Born: 1941

Peter van Inwagen

Contemporary United States Metaphysics

American philosopher. Known for his work on metaphysics, free will, and philosophy of religion.

Born: 1942

Brian Leiter

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Law

American philosopher and legal scholar. Known for his work on Nietzsche and philosophy of law.

Born: 1963

Joshua Greene

Contemporary United States Moral Psychology

American psychologist and philosopher. Known for his work on moral cognition and dual-process theory.

Born: 1974

Jonathan Haidt

Contemporary United States Moral Psychology

American social psychologist. Known for his work on the psychology of morality.

Born: 1963

Philip Kitcher

Contemporary England Philosophy of Science

British philosopher. Known for his work on the philosophy of science and ethics.

Born: 1947

Helen Longino

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Science

American philosopher of science. Known for her work on social epistemology and feminist philosophy of science.

Born: 1944

Bas van Fraassen

Contemporary Netherlands Philosophy of Science

Dutch-American philosopher. Known for his defense of constructive empiricism.

Born: 1941

Elliott Sober

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Biology

American philosopher. Known for his work on philosophy of biology and philosophy of science.

Born: 1948

Michael Ruse

Contemporary England Philosophy of Biology

British-Canadian philosopher of science. Specialist in the philosophy of biology.

Born: 1940

Karen Bennett

Contemporary United States Metaphysics

American philosopher. Known for her work on metaphysics and philosophy of mind.

Born: 1972

Galen Strawson

Contemporary England Philosophy of Mind

British philosopher. Known for his work on free will, consciousness, and the self.

Born: 1952

Susanna Siegel

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for her work on perception and epistemic consequences of perception.

Born: 1970

Paul Boghossian

Contemporary United States Epistemology

American philosopher. Known for his work on content, self-knowledge, and color.

Born: 1957

Sarah Paul

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Action

American philosopher. Known for her work on intention, practical knowledge, and agency.

Born: 1975

Robert Brandom

Contemporary United States Pragmatism

American philosopher. Known for his work on the philosophy of language and mind.

Born: 1950

John McDowell

Contemporary South Africa Philosophy of Mind

South African philosopher. Known for his work on philosophy of mind, epistemology, and ethics.

Born: 1942

Hubert Dreyfus

Contemporary United States Phenomenology

American philosopher. Known for his critique of artificial intelligence and work on Heidegger.

Born: 1929

Alison Gopnik

Contemporary United States Developmental Psychology

American professor of psychology and philosopher. Known for her work on cognitive development.

Born: 1955

Jesse Prinz

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for his work on emotion, moral psychology, and consciousness.

Born: 1968

Shaun Nichols

Contemporary United States Experimental Philosophy

American philosopher. Known for his work on moral psychology and experimental philosophy.

Born: 1964

Tamar Gendler

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for her work on imagination, thought experiments, and alief.

Born: 1965

Stephen Yablo

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Language

American philosopher. Known for his work on metaphysics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind.

Born: 1957

Sally Haslanger

Contemporary United States Feminist Philosophy

American philosopher. Known for her work on metaphysics, epistemology, and feminist theory.

Born: 1955

Miranda Fricker

Contemporary England Epistemology

British philosopher. Known for her work on epistemic injustice.

Born: 1966

Jason Stanley

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Language

American philosopher. Known for his work on philosophy of language and epistemology.

Born: 1969

L.A. Paul

Contemporary United States Metaphysics

American philosopher. Known for her work on metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and decision theory.

Born: 1966

Peter Railton

Contemporary United States Moral Realism

American philosopher. Known for his work on metaethics and moral psychology.

Born: 1950

Ernest Sosa

Contemporary Cuba Virtue Epistemology

Cuban-American philosopher. Known for his work on epistemology.

Born: 1940

Fred Dretske

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for his work on epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of perception.

Born: 1932

Tyler Burge

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for his work on philosophy of mind and philosophy of language.

Born: 1946

Ruth Millikan

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for her work on philosophy of biology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language.

Born: 1933

Jaegwon Kim

Contemporary South Korea Philosophy of Mind

Korean-American philosopher. Known for his work on mental causation and supervenience.

Born: 1934

Ned Block

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for his work on consciousness and cognitive science.

Born: 1942

Frank Jackson

Contemporary Australia Philosophy of Mind

Australian philosopher. Known for the knowledge argument against physicalism.

Born: 1943

Sydney Shoemaker

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Mind

American philosopher. Known for his work on personal identity and philosophy of mind.

Born: 1931

Roderick Chisholm

Contemporary United States Epistemology

American philosopher. Known for his work on epistemology and metaphysics.

Born: 1916

Nelson Goodman

Contemporary United States Philosophy of Science

American philosopher. Known for the new riddle of induction and nominalism.

Born: 1906

Wilfrid Sellars

Contemporary United States Analytic Philosophy

American philosopher. Known for his critique of the "myth of the given".

Born: 1912

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